Three rules Clean Up always follows
- Scanning changes nothing. Tend measures and lists. Nothing moves until you review the list and confirm.
- Everything goes to the Trash first. Tend never deletes files outright. Until you empty the Trash, you can put anything back: open the Trash in Finder, select the item and choose File › Put Back.
- No system files. Cleanup and Space Map only work inside your home folder. The Uninstaller removes only the app you choose, plus leftovers in your own Library. macOS's system folders and other people's accounts are never touched.
Moving files to the Trash doesn't free space by itself. The space comes back when you empty the Trash, so check it first. Scanning is free; moving things to the Trash is part of Tend Pro (free during the beta).
What Cleanup looks at
| Category | Where | Selected for you? |
|---|---|---|
| App caches | Each app's folder in ~/Library/Caches. Apps rebuild these on their own. | Yes, except caches of apps that are open and caches used by macOS |
| Logs and crash reports | ~/Library/Logs | Yes |
| Developer files | Xcode DerivedData, Simulator caches, older iOS DeviceSupport folders, and npm, Gradle and pip caches | Yes, except your newest DeviceSupport folder and downloaded AI models (Hugging Face) |
| Old downloads | Disk images, installers and archives (.dmg, .pkg, .zip, .xip, .iso) in Downloads that are more than two weeks old | Yes, except .zip archives, which can hold documents |
Only items of 1 MB or more are listed, except old downloads, which are all listed. You can select or deselect anything before you confirm.
Tip: quit apps before clearing their caches. An open app may be using its cache, so Tend doesn't select those, and tells you which app to quit first.
Caches come back as you use your apps, so clearing them frees space for a while, not forever. They're worth clearing when they've grown large, or when an app misbehaves.
Space Map
Space Map shows your home folder by size so the big things are obvious. Click a folder to look inside. You can move an item to the Trash from there (Pro), but some folders are protected because removing them would break your account or apps:
- Your home folder itself, and its standard folders: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Library, Movies, Music, Pictures, Public and Applications.
- Everything directly inside ~/Library.
- Credential and settings folders:
.ssh,.gnupgand.config, plus the Trash itself.
You can still open a protected folder and remove what's inside it.
Uninstaller
The Uninstaller lists the apps in /Applications and in your own Applications folder, with their size and when you last used them. Apple's own apps aren't listed.
- Quit the app first. Tend won't uninstall an app that's running.
- The app goes first. Tend moves the app to the Trash on its own. Only if that works does it move the leftovers you selected. If macOS protects the app (common for App Store apps and apps installed with an installer), nothing is removed, and Tend tells you to drag the app to the Trash in Finder instead.
- Leftovers are matched carefully. Tend looks only inside ~/Library, for files named after the app's identifier or exact name: caches, preferences, saved state, logs, launch agents and containers.
- Your data isn't selected for you. Containers, group containers and Application Support folders can hold documents an app saved, so Tend lists them unticked. Check before including them.
Startup Items
Startup Items lists the background helpers and updaters that start with your Mac, with the app or vendor that installed each one. Switching one off unloads it now and keeps it off at the next login. It's fully reversible: switch it back on any time. This part of Clean Up is free.
- Items in your account switch without a password.
- Helpers installed for all users also switch without a password. Switching one off turns it off for your account only.
- System services (daemons) need an administrator's password. macOS asks for it, and the prompt says which item Tend is changing. If you cancel, nothing changes. System services are hidden unless you turn on Include system services.
- Apps that register through macOS appear in System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions instead. Tend has a button that opens it.
If you're not sure what something is, leave it on. Switching off a helper for an app you use, such as a backup or sync tool, can stop that app working properly.
Something went wrong
If you moved something you need, open the Trash in Finder, select it and choose File › Put Back. If you've already emptied the Trash, restore it from your Time Machine backup. If Tend did something you didn't expect, please tell us so we can fix it.